1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a car cigar lighter mounted on a panel board near the driver's seat of a car to provide drivers the ease of smoking.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, the cigar lighter used for vehicles comprises a plug assembly having a knob and a socket assembly having a bimetal. The cigar lighter available conventionally has been so constructed that the position of the plug assembly knob inserted into the socket assembly moves in 3 steps, i.e., a SET position in its ordinary state, an ON position where a heater is actuated by pushing the knob inward, and an OFF position where the knob pops out and the heating operation terminates. This is the result of due consideration given to minimize the protrusion of the knob out of the instrument panel at other positions than the OFF position because, if the knob is projecting too much from the instrument panel, there is a possibility of the driver touching the knob by some chance, e.g., when the vehicle has stopped suddenly.
However, as for the conventional cigar lighter used for the cars so far, the socket and plug that are the component parts of the cigar lighter have been long and besides, the shaft body provided with a heater cap has also been long, which has encountered a difficulty in making the cigar lighter in a very small size.
Also in the traditional cigar lighter, the mounting construction of the base shaft and the knob has been such that the base shaft is fitted directly to the knob with a clamp, e.g., a bolt. It has been made clear, however, that the assembly time increases and it is unsuitable for mass production.
Further, in a car cigar lighter which has been so constructed as to sink the knob into the instrument panel as far as possible, the knob length has been set just long enough to enable picking up the knob with thumb and fingers. Therefore, the plug assembly has been provided with a heat insulating means to prevent finger(s) from getting burned when taking a grip of the knob while putting the plug assembly in and out of the socket assembly.
However, with respect to the conventional car cigar lighter provided with the heat insulating means in the construction that the knob moves in 3 steps, the construction has become intricate with the increase in the number of parts and lots of manhours have been required for the assembly process.